REVIEW: Natalie Portman's 'Annihilation' is a freaky, original sci-fi thriller led by a powerful female cast

Movie studios have given us a good run of satisfying, entertaining sci-fi movies lately thanks to Marvel and "Star Wars."

But now Paramount has given us something all too rare: a smart, ambitious, and mysterious sci-fi movie led by women.

Starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, and Oscar Isaac, "Annihilation" is about a group of scientists who enter and investigate the "shimmer," a disaster zone caused by an alien force. No one who's entered it has ever left, and no signals can go in or out.

The "shimmer" is filled with flora and fauna that defy the laws of science and form a beautiful — and frightening — self-contained world. When the team goes inside, they find both a dream and a nightmare.

Why you should care: It's a smart sci-fi movie with a diverse cast.

"Annihilation" is cut from the same cloth as "Ex Machina," Alex Garland's previous movie, which was a thrilling, cramped sci-fi movie that dealt with ideas about artificial intelligence and humanity. It's also a lot like Denis Villeneuve's "Arrival," starring Amy Adams, in that there's female scientists who try to understand an alien force. "Annihilation" is a lot like that, except it's drawn on a more ambitious canvas and has more texture to it.

It's also refreshingly diverse. Science fiction is a historically male-dominated genre, but "Annihilation" passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors. Some people may have been concerned that Portman was playing an Asian-American character, but they don't hold up when you consider the movie on its own terms. "Annihilation" doesn't remotely stick close to the Jeff VanderMeer book it's based on (which VanderMeer is comfortable with). And a diverse cast of women are on screen for nearly the entirety of the movie's running time.

What's hot: "Annihilation" is thought-provoking, treats its characters well, and is extraordinarily well-crafted.

It's totally clear that "Annihilation" was made with care and precision by everyone involved. Its four main characters are well-balanced. They're each damaged in their own way, but all united in their purpose of entering the "shimmer." They're not two-dimensional staples, like DC's "Suicide Squad," or annoying old science nerds who crack lame jokes, like the guy in "The Martian."

The scientists enter the "shimmer," a zone where no one has escaped. Paramount

The movie's science fiction conceit is based on the idea of a sort of biological singularity, where genes of different living beings can blend together. Rendered onscreen with Garland's visual imagination, the end result is beautiful. Some scenes feel like Pandora from "Avatar," but more grounded in reality. There are creatures that look like they might exist in real life, but are unsettlingly unreal at the same time. As Portman's character says at one point, the inside of the "shimmer" is like a nightmare but also has the beauty of a dream.

Garland's smartest visual choices inject the story with mystery. He takes no pains to explain everything to the audience in technical terms, like with Ellen Page jabbering away about dream psychology in "Inception." He gives us information using visual signals and is confidence enough in its abilities and in his audience's intelligence to make it work. The final 20 minutes of the movie are nearly wordless, but every motion onscreen communicates meaning. They are tense, precise, and crafted with intelligence and care.

What's not: Some of the science fiction stuff doesn't hold up.

While it's good that Garland doesn't over-explain his world, some of his science remains inexplicable. There's a stretch of the movie where the limits of the "shimmer" — which appear as a bubble over a large area of land — should be visible in the horizon but for some reason isn't. And while one of the characters takes care to explain the biological consequences of the movie's conceit, anyone with a passing understanding of physics would understand that it doesn't entirely work.

The beasts in the movie, at first, look like a distorted version of real-life creatures. Paramount Pictures

There's also a useless plot threat where Portman cheats on her husband, which could have been entirely cut. And much of the story is communicated through interviews Portman gives after she leaves the "shimmer," which rob the story of some tension because we know she definitely escapes in the end.

"Annihilation" also has one intense body-horror scene that's hard to watch, so beware.

The bottom line: It's a smart movie that's definitely worth watching.

If you like smart science fiction movies, "Annihilation" is just as essential as "Ex Machina" and "Arrival." You'll be thinking about it long after you leave the theater.

And if you care about the movie business, watch it in theaters. Paramount, the company distributing "Annihilation," ultimately struck a deal that would allow Netflix to stream the movie internationally instead of showing it in theaters. That means the United States is one of the only countries where you'll be able to see the movie on the big screen. That's a shame. It's a rare non-franchise science fiction film to be drawn on a magnificent, big canvas.

Grade:

A

"Annihilation" is in theaters Friday.

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